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Hellbent

careful what you wish for

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I've never really wanted to be rich, because I don't believe money can buy happiness. Recently I was having a convo with a friend about whether or not it would be good to be rich and I was arguing that being able to have anything you want or do anything you want would diminish the value of those things and they'd become meaningless and she said "I'd rather have the problems that come with being rich over the ones that come with being poor." I thought that was a pretty clever response, but I think I probably still prefer the problems that come with having to worry about how you spend your money or if you will have enough to do the things you want to do than being able to go anywhere whenever and live in a gorgeous house and drive my dream car (Porsche 911 Turbo) etc.

In retrospect, Teen not so thrilled about winnings.

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After finishing a video game, I come to understand that the most fun I had was during the times that I was struggling for items and survival. Moments where everything is handed to me is decidedly less fun. I guess the same principle can apply IRL.

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So she won about 3 million dollars when she was 16... and in six years she managed to buy expensive shit, get her tits done, have two kids and the rest of it went up her nose.

Yeah, that lends a whole lot of creedence to the idea of "average Joe + millions = crazy and broke".

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The key sentence for me was the one at the end, "Winning the lottery has ruined my life". You can tell exactly what type of person they are straight away when they phrase it like that. They don't blame themselves for being a fucking moron and making stupid decisions, they blame the money because it somehow made them do it.

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DooMAD said:

The key sentence for me was the one at the end, "Winning the lottery has ruined my life". You can tell exactly what type of person they are straight away when they phrase it like that. They don't blame themselves for being a fucking moron and making stupid decisions, they blame the money because it somehow made them do it.


This.

It's not that difficult to find constructive ways to spend an assload of money.

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Nomad said:

This.

It's not that difficult to find constructive ways to spend an assload of money.

Agreed. You can easily still be conservative with loads of money, what matters is what is important to you. Spend it on what you know you will need and indulge occasionally (i.e. vacation, birthday). Having more money means you can do more extravagant things, buy a bigger house and car for the kids, but you have to keep it in perspective and decide what's really important and what it is you can still wait for.

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There's more to these stories than psychological weakness. A huge sum of money does come with its own pressures.

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Like all the pressure you'll receive from random strangers and every one of your peers/family members to share it, or at least to spend it - save it? are you crazy? - and the removal of a logical motivator to seek a good education and career. If one feels unconcerned about one's financial future, it's that much harder to continue going through those motions.

Because of the mental make-up of the vast majority of people, a financial windfall really is a disaster. Of course this doesn't absolve these girls of their sin of gluttony, but at the same time, blaming them for it is almost like blaming a man, shot in the lung, for bleeding to death. It's quite natural, and quite predictable. Laplace's demon saw it coming.

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Creaphis said:

There's more to these stories than psychological weakness. A huge sum of money does come with its own pressures.


Money doesn't come with anything. It's just a large amount of paper. The only people who feel "pressured" by having large amounts of money are the folks whose parents never gave them lectures on the importance of saving.

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If I were rich, I'd build a house in the woods away from civilization (but still not too far away from the closest food store), wire myself a good net connection and buy a Mini. Then I'd spend all my days gardening, watching anime and making Doom maps.

And what best, I'd never, ever work for a single day. I value being able to do whatever I want and whenever I want over having all kinds of pointless hip shit possible.

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Mr. Freeze said:

The only people who feel "pressured" by having large amounts of money are the folks whose parents never gave them lectures on the importance of saving.


1. An individual's attitudes stem mainly from their genetics and their peers. Parenting is comparatively less effectual.

2. Even if a few solid lectures would have steered these kids straight, the fact that they didn't get these lectures is another reason they can't really be blamed directly.

3. Sorry that I'm so much more behaviourist/materialist/determinist than the rest of you.

Jodwin said:

And what best, I'd never, ever work for a single day. I value being able to do whatever I want and whenever I want over having all kinds of pointless hip shit possible.


And that's why winning the lottery would doom you from the start. "Doing whatever you want, whenever you want" creates unanticipated problems.

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Creaphis said:

And that's why winning the lottery would doom you from the start. "Doing whatever you want, whenever you want" creates unanticipated problems.

Really depends on what it is that you want to do (read: how "ambitious" or pressured by others you are). Personally I couldn't care less what other people think about me and expect me to do, and I'm bad at buying pointless shit that I don't really need. As famous last words, I'm sure it would turn out just fine. :P

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You very well could be fine if suddenly handed a fortune - I don't know that you wouldn't be. In fact, this logical crowd of mid-twenties males would probably use money more wisely on average than any other cross-section of society. But part of that wisdom includes anticipating the external pressures and internal impulses that you will, unavoidably, have to face.

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Sure there are a number of selfish things I'd do for myself, including buying an adequate home (I have no need for anything too luxurious or spacious), and a durable vehicle in which the dashboard doesn't light up like a christmas tree and will last me a good long while. Of course some superficial things like home entertainment centers and I'm sure eventually I'd buy new computers.

But beyond that, I can't say I'd have any use for a large sum of money. I'd probably put a lot of it in savings for my own (eventual) children, and donate a bunch to a charity I happen to like most at the time. There is plenty of things I would like to learn so I'm sure I'd spend a lot of time in school with the money.

Whether I had a lot of money or not, I'd probably keep working because I'm sure eventually I'll find something I enjoy doing enough for money.

I couldn't see myself being pressured much by others to use my money for them. Sure, I'd probably also help my dad into a larger house as currently we're a family of 7 in a four bedroom house. But my dad is pretty down to earth and probably wouldn't ask for much beyond that. As for strangers I have no problem telling someone to fuck off.

Again, it's not that difficult to find constructive ways to use a large sum of money. The fact that someone would blow that much money on basically nothing speaks volumes for the type of person they are in the first place.

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I did have the thought once that if I ever won the lottery or had some ot her form of millions upon millions of dollars bestowed on me so that I don't need to work again... I'd probably buy a house, but then make all my own furniture by hand. It sounds like fun :-)

And then I'd buy a computer that can play Doom at max settings... oh wait I already have that.

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At this point in time and especially in the future, acquiring a large sum of money is the key to long life.

(if used wisely ofc and not blown on living the high life for a short while etc.)

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AndrewB said:

I guess the same principle can apply IRL.


Only that IRL you don't have saved games to reload from when you fuck up. I view having riches as having the closest thing to "saved games" there is.

Want some proof? Go smash somebody's car for no reason and wait for him to come along. If you're not rich, you'll end up in hospital. If you're rich, you hand him twice the net value of his car in cash, and he'll offer you to break something else of his, too ;-)


Ahem....


Get over it people. While there are "lose-lose" situations in life that result in no advantage whatsoever (famine, imprisonment, terminal illnesses etc.) riches are definitively not such a situation.

They surely require some ability to manage them, but hey, if you're not some squandering idiot or not inclined to invest them, the very least you can quietly put them in a bank and spend them as you would normally without affecting your life other than having a solid, secure fallback. No more anxiety whether you'll come up with the money for your mortgage, bills or groceries any given month, or counting pennies at the supermarket. Serenity is one of the greatest and most unstable of values, and riches give you plenty of it.

I would not openly flaunt riches though, that would readily attract con artists/scammers/criminals and cause you extra problems.

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At least all that spending is good for the economy (I think.)

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Serves her right for not investing a small part of it (Say, 100-200k in savings). I would have done the same, paid off all household expenses and other things.

Save some, spend some.

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She regrets bettering the lives of her parents, her grandmother, and the life experience she's gained? Plus, she still owns more money than your average 22-year-old. My response to that is the same as DooMAD's.

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Nothing been said here about the lotto moron which I wouldn't say myself.

When I was younger I got myself into 5 figures of debt. Not much in the big scheme of things, but quite alot when you're 18, living alone and earning $405 a week after tax. As I struggled to pay this off, I organised my finances so I had essentials (bills, rent, food, debt) paid for and less than $5 a fortnight to spend on myself. This went on for at least 6 months. I had no money for entertainment so I spent alot of time with my friends, and any new thing I came across was a treasure to me as I didn't really have alot. I wasn't too thrilled at the time but looking back, I think of this relying on interaction and people for fun instead of "stuff" as one of the most emotionally rewarding times of my life.

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Technician said:

How do you spend 3 million on bullshit? Goddammit, I'd still be hoarding that money today and collecting the interest.


I'm gonna take a jab at this but I'm guessing it's because of two things: 1) Teenager and 2) Female.

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Nomad said:

$400 a week? I wouldn't mind making that! Sign me up!

It's amusing to watch how our worth (and perception of worth) changes over time. Last round of jobs I applied for, I wouldn't even get out of bed for double that amount.

Yet I have one friend who earns over $100k in 6 months, then takes 6 months off to spend time with his family and focus on his hobbies. To me, earning that amount of cash is just unfathomable.

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Nomad said:

$400 a week? I wouldn't mind making that! Sign me up!


I think Super Jamie meant AUS $ ;-)

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